When I explained the idea of this website to my family I got mixed responses. Some of them were excited and some were concerned that I was putting too much of myself out there. There was a time when I believed that online blogs, personal websites and e-dairies were a symptom of an increasingly narcissistic, vain and fame obsessed culture. Then I actually started reading them.

I soon realized that they can be something else. They can be explorations of experiences that we all have, but are so ashamed of that we never talk about. For this reason they can be as therapeutic to read as they are to write.

I have learned that there is a power in utterance, there is a power in being heard and starting a dialogue. There is a power in being listened to, even if the response is not positive, even if it is critical. So I will, from time to time, write about my life and my thoughts because I believe in the power of self expression. I’ll post pictures that I find interesting or profound. I’ll post quotes that give seem a little insight into the world.

I will try to stay away from posting negative things. Oh, I’ll talk about oppression, rape culture, tragedies in the news because I think all of those things are important. Yet, what I’m not going to do is hate on people or things I dislike. If you are unfortunate enough to know me in real life, you probably know that I am prone to go off on rants. I’ll rage for hours against boughie Black people, or hood names or the Democratic Party…yet I’ve noticed that all that negativity breeds negativity. Hate propagates hate. So, for my own sanity and well being, I will try not to hate anymore. Though, if you look carefully, you’ll find some blog post where I hate on Capitalist Class Culture or East of the River Gentrifiers. They remain up because I stand by what I said though, in the future, I’ll try to frame it more positively.

I don’t expect everyone will like everything I will post. I’ve also made a commitment to post things that take time to go through and maybe even a little bit of effort on the part of the reader or listener. I love that every little fact and figure we could ever want is available in easily digestible lists and 750 words posts yet I think a bit of the complexity of life gets lost with that. I’m not sure if I’m the best person to be trying to bring complexity to the larger social discourse but I’m pretty sure I’m the only one who can make complexity and patience regular parts of my life, so that’s what I’m going to do. I Imagine some things will only be funny or profound to me…but I’m finally okay with that.

Enjoy

Aaron